1When the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, 2#Nu 26.60 Aaron's four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, 3were the ones to be ordained as priests. 4#Lv 10.12Nu 26.61 But the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable#3.4 fire that was unacceptable: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. in their offering to the Lord.#3.4 the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu … to the Lord: See Leviticus 10.1,2. And because Nadab and Abihu had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with their father Aaron.

The Duties of the Levites

5The Lord said to Moses:

6Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants 7and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. 8The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. 9They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons, 10who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.

11-13#Ex 13.2 Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine.#3.11-13 When I killed … mine: See Exodus 13.1,2, 11-16. But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.

The Levites Are Counted

14In the Sinai Desert the Lord said to Moses, 15“Now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe by families and by clans. Include every one at least a month old.” 16So Moses obeyed and counted them.

17Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. 18Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. 19Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.

21The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, 22and they had 7,500 men and boys at least one month old. 23-24The Gershonites, under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael, were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent. 25Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance, 26the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

27The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, 28and they had 8,600#3.28 8,600: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “8,300.” men and boys at least one month old. 29-30The Kohathites, under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel, were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent. 31Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

32Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.

33The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, 34and they had 6,200 men and boys at least one month old. 35The Merarites, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail, were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent. 36-37Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

38Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.

39So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was 22,000.

The Levites Are Accepted as Substitutes for the First-Born Sons

40The Lord said to Moses, “Make a list and count the first-born sons at least one month old in each of the Israelite families. 41They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' first-born livestock.”

42Moses obeyed the Lord and counted the first-born sons; 43there were 22,273 of them.

44Then the Lord said, 45“The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the first-born sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' first-born livestock. 46But since there are more first-born sons than Levites, the extra 273 men and boys must be bought back from me. 47For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 48This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons.”

49Moses collected the silver from the extra 273 first-born men and boys, 50and it amounted to 1,365 pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 51Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.